Jun 13 2008 8:59AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (0) |
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“American homes are getting smaller.” How many times have you heard that one? But now it might actually be true. In the AIA Home Design Trends Survey for the first quarter of 2008, 33.5 percent of architects reported that home sizes are declining, compared to 15.5 percent who said they were increasing. In addition, 12 percent of respondents observed that two-story foyers, higher ceilings and other features that expand interior volume were on the decline. (Read the survey analysis here.)

“It’s very much a nationwide trend now to scale down homes,” said Marianne Cusato, a New York City-based architect known for her Katrina cottages, in a recent e-mail. Cusato used to design big houses (3,000 square feet and up), but her focus now is small, efficient plans. “Small” is relative, of course – it can mean 800 square feet or 1,800. The key is making rooms serve more than one purpose and avoiding wasted space. Both the AIA survey and an article on CNNMoney.com cite the faltering national economy, demographic changes and growing consumer awareness of sustainable principles as reasons for the square-foot shrinkage.

Looks like the message of Sarah Susanka, author of “The Not So Big House,” is finally getting through to the masses.